Cleveland Indians MLB Draft History And Projections

As we approach the 2018 MLB Draft on June 4, we’ll break down each major league team’s recent draft history, picking out tendencies where applicable, highlighting the team’s 2018 draft pool and also touching on the organization’s most successful recent draft picks.

Additionally, each team is listed with potential draft targets. These players either fit the typical modus operandi of the organization or are players who have been specifically linked or rumored as fits with a team throughout the spring. Baseball America will continue to add and subtract players from the potential draft target section as we continue to gather information in the final weeks leading up to the draft. Players are listed with a line of skinny to get a quick idea of who they are, but our full scouting reports will give a more complete picture of a player.

It’s also worth pointing out that while in some cases a team might appear to have a clear tendency with certain demographics (i.e., high school pitchers or college hitters), the sample we are looking at is small enough that teams could simply be following a best player available strategy and the results are showing something that’s not an overarching scouting philosophy. It’s more likely that tendencies can be discovered at the extremes, rather than slight apparent preferences in the last five years.

Here is a breakdown of the recent MLB Draft history of the Cleveland Indians:

First Round Picks Since 2013:

Best Recent Pick (2010-2017 Drafts):

SS Francisco Lindor (No. 8 overall, 2011) has become the Indians' franchise shortstop and the player they’re going build around for the foreseeable future. Since debuting in 2015, Lindor has been one of the most electric shortstops in the game, playing gold glove-caliber defense and hitting well above league average. Lindor has been worth more than 16 WAR in that period and, at just 24 years old, he should be a reliable star in Cleveland for a long time.

Recent Tendencies (Last Five Years/Top Five Rounds):

The Indians have leaned towards high school players and hitters in the last five years in the top five rounds of the draft. Under the guide of scouting director Brad Grant, Cleveland has selected 53.6 percent high school players in that period, which is the fourth-highest percentage in the game behind just the Orioles (59.3), Padres (58.6) and Rangers (55.6). Aside from Bradley Zimmer (2014) and Mike Papi (2014), each of the Indians first or supplemental first round picks since 2013 have been high school players.

The team is also sixth in that same time frame and round range in regards to the number of position players selected, with 57 percent of their picks dedicated to hitters.

The 2018 draft for the Indians will be interesting on a number of levels, as scouting director Scott Barnsby will be calling the shots for the first time after being promoted from assistant scouting director. Barnsby has been with the Indians’ scouting department since 2002, so there’s likely not going to be a substantive shift in draft philosophy.

Cleveland also has more bonus pool money than any team with first round picks from 19-30, with a compensation pick at No. 35 and a supplemental first round pick at No. 41 that should give the team some flexibility and room to get creative if they choose.